March 2010 Chemo Start

How do I join this? I start chemo next Wednesday, St. Patty's day. This is my 2nd go around with chemo. Started chemo last time on 3/31/08. This is a recur of bone mets to hip/femur/rib/shoulder. Will be doing Taxotere/Herceptin this time. Last time I did A/C and Taxol/herceptin. This is a really neat thread, I like the idea of having someone to talk to that is starting chemo the same month as me. Please add me to the list! Thanks and hang in there everyone, it's not a walk in the park but it's definitely DOABLE!

Take care Everyone!

Suzanne E.

I've been mostly lurking and quietly keeping up on everything from the past few days..glad that everyone seems to be doing okay!

StaceyT:  we started on the same date, I'm wondering if you went for your blood counts during the "nadir" at the end of last week?  How were your counts?  What is the date of chemo #2 for you?  I'm scheduled for 3/23.  

Welcome to Undecided, sorry that you are back in this boat...we'll keep you company!  Frosty 1 will add you to the list, thats all you do to join the club that nobody wants to be in.

Sarikasd:  I'm BRCA 1 positive, too.  There was zero family history, up until now!  I have two daughters, too young to test yet, but eventually will have to go there.  Difficult to contemplate. Do you mind if I ask,  dId you get  dbl mx?  Onc. recommend ooferectomy?   I'm not sure of your age, just wondering if our surgery was the same.

Allison:  totally agree, the length of the list is mind boggling and that is just those of us on this ONE site that chose to sign up!  The numbers are actually staggering! 

I think I'm in the "grace period" between chemo #1 and chemo #2.  Just feel like a good long nap would be the icing on the cake!  Its a very windy and rainy day in NY..perfect foe napping, if kids allow!

Hope you all are okay and feeling (somewhat) relaxed this weekend. 

hey lovemygarden - here's a blast from the past for ya - Lady Godiva by Peter & Gordon (performing on the Milton Berle show in 1966) !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouP_p7vrO80

It has been an interesting 3 days so far.

I know that most of you have someone that is going through the experience with you and thought that it might be interesting to give a perspective from the other side of the LazyBoy. Carolyn started her chemo process Thursday with the implanting of the Power Port. When the doctor came in to explain the procedure he mentioned that in 2% of the time one could get a collapsed lung (more of that later). When we first got to the oncology clinic I found it crowded, noisy and not very inviting (it is located in the basement of the hospital and it reminded me of the Veterans Administration Hospital). If I had not heard such good things about the staff we would have walked out. The nurse started to explain the process and I stepped in and asked if we could discuss this in a more private place and one that was conducive to hearing. I am not one to complain about most things but this location to discuss this important stuff was not acceptable. They moved us to a treatment room, went over much of the process and then started the Chemo.

I would assume that for you ladies the experience of being in the chemo room must be scary and uncomfortable, for a husband it is "deer in headlight time". We are in a room of really sick people and they are pumping chemicals into your wife's body. I looked up at the bags hanging on the IV pole and noticed that they had warnings on the to be not touched withour gloves, and they are putting that in my wife. At one point a gentleman in his late forties came in with his family. I thought that this poor guy looked like the walking dead, but there was something about him that was familiar. As I mentioned there is no privacy in this place and you hear everything whether you want to or not. From the discussion this guy had some really heavy duty cancer going on. The took him to get a Xray and when they did they said "we will see you back soon Chuck". I went up to the nurse and asked what his last name was. . . .I have known Chuck for over 17 years (we fought fires together, did EMS runs together and spent time at the firehouse, I did not even recognize him), then I looked back at my wife with the IV running.

 5 hours later she was done and we were off to home. She had a restful night (they gave her pain meds for the port surgery) and in the morning she ran some errands with my daughter. She mentioned to my daughter that she was hearing a gurgling sound when she inhaled. The oncology office asked her to stop by the hospital and get an Xray. We got a call back about 5:30 with instructions to meet the surgeon at the ER, she had a collapsed lung. That is a nasty procedure under the best of circumstances and on top of the Port implant and Chemo things could not have been worse. I knew what she was in for and did not say anything (felt it would not help). We got home about 11:30 and she spent the night in pain and in the chair, could not lay down.

All in all not a good start to an almost year long process. I got bitched at and hassled off an on during the day, but that is ok. I know it is the pain talking and not her.

I would suspect that I am not that much different from many husbands, we see everything, we are scared to death, we feel your pain and we try to keep it to ourself. If we are quiet don't assume we don't care, if we don't have an opinion on something we might have one but don't want to impose our desires on you. If you bitch at us, we will get over it.

hello march ladies!   just wanted to post some words of encouragement.  I started chemo one year ago today.  Friday the 13th!   I was on A/C for 15 weeks, taxol/herceptin for 12 weeks.  once a week treatments.  ugh.  i'm doing herceptin every 3 weeks until august, and i'm down to 9 radiation treatments.  I know the reaction is different for everybody, I was one of the lucky ones.  I had almost no reaction to chemo at all.  I worked full time, and wasn't sick at all.  I chose to "go commando"  with my bald head.  It actually was rather nice during the summer.  Just remember that sun block!  I wish you all good, happy thoughts! 

Hello Ladies, Today was ok for me too.  I have to take Zofran and Compazine each once a day to keep nausea at bay, but my appetite is literally down to 25% of what it was, because of which I guess I am feeling tired.  But till now overall its not been terrible.  I am loooking forward to more recovery and strength next week.  Hope you all have a great remaining of the weekend.

I had my surgery for the removal of my right breast in Feb and start my Chemo the last of March. I will have 4 treatments every three weeks of Docetaxel and cyclophosphamide. I will have my port put in on the 16th, pet scan and ct scan after that. will have hormone therapy after the chemo and posibility of radiation.Have had to go off of my hormones that I have been on since my hysterectomy. And Dr said to stay away from soy and Lysine due to the hormones. Does any one know of any thing else that may have hormones in it?

 I was reading some of the comments and one had a question of the curly hair. It brought a funny story to mind. After my husband was finished with his chemo and his hair grew back, it came in curly. He was really upset. Asked me what he was supposed to do with it and said he couldn't comb it. I told him he should be proud of it as I had to pay high dollar to get curl in my hair. I really thought it looked  very becoming on him. The next day he brought me the hair clippers and said to cut this D___ stuff so I can do something with this mess!!!! So we buzzed the hair again and when it grew back this time he had no more curl. He passed away on Mar 23, 2008 of stage 4 Melanoma. I am supposed to start my chemo on that date this year. Not looking forward to it. Hopefully I can keep my mind occupied.

Lesinindy,

I cannot express how much your post touched me! I've been on message boards, discussion groups for 2 years now expect for this one I just found a month aga, I've NEVER once saw a husband make a post and that's unfortunate because I've never really stopped to think of what my husband has gone through right along with me. He's never got to come in the chemo room with me though because my Oncology office does NOT allow visitors under ANY circumstances. I hope your wife gets better VERY soon. I'm so sorry to hear about what she went through with the lung issue. She's very lucky to have such a caring, understanding, supportive husband. I am VERY blessed myself. Good luck and hang in there. 

Suzanne E.

Mornin' all, the birds are having a party outside!  Having tea & oatmeal, feel good.

barb - anniversaries can be hard so your chemo start date's a tough one!  {{hugs}}

les - thanks for sharing that, yeah you guys are in a catch-22 situation!  Are you feeling any physical side effects?   I wonder if there's such a thing as second-hand chemo. 

welcome also undecided and hereandnow to a great club you never wanted to join!

My second tx got moved up from Tues 3/30 to Fri 3/26 so DH can't go that day.  He has Mon & Tues off work and I had the choice of Tues or Weds for tx's so chose Tues.  But he says it's good to know what's going to happen.

Well the birds have calmed down a little, just noticed the absence of the Phil Spector-like "wall of sound" lol.  Hope you all have a good day, my thoughts and prayers are with you my sisters and brothers!  {{hugs}}

Stacey - I have a co-worker who's pregnant and we share many traits:

* we both carry around food at all times to ward off nausea

* we both believe our mental capacity is slightly diminished

* we both pack meds for constipation, diarrhea, and heartburn

* we are both off certain food and drink (coffee) we used to love

* we both have food cravings

* we both have sore feet

* we both have slight swelling of the ankles esp when we've been on our feet too much

* neither of us will have a period for the foreseeable future

* didn't notice it yet but yeah I bet we'll both get acne...puberty again!?!   

Dear all

greetings from the January 2009 group.  I wish all the best as you head through treatment. Know that you can do it- it can be challenging, but you CAN do it.  I am a year away from my last treatment with a full head of hair and feeling great.  There is light at the end of this tunnel, I promise!!!!!

Feel free to add to the list, I'm sure there are LOTS more.  For example:

* we both are forbidden from alcohol and aspirin

* we both have increased sensitivity to taste and smell

* we both are likely to gain weight irrespective of our actual food consumption

* her hair thinned with baby #1 and her DH is balding so there's nioxin in the house

(OK full disclosure on that -- I don't have any nioxin yet but plan to...)

Hey all - best wishes and prayers for everyone having first tx next week. You can do it!  {{hugs}}

Hello Ladies, Its good to know that everyone is doing pretty well.  Today was my day 4 after round #1 and I must say, each day has been different.  I am noticing more fatigue and a kind of restlessness also accompanied by it.  Is anyone else experiencing the same thing.  I  went out for some time in the evening but I didnt have the energy to stand in the grocery store.  I dont know if this is the effect of taking compazine but I need that to  keep the nausea down.  Maybe the coming week will be good.